Newsletter: Greenpeace

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Recently members of the Mayan people living on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico joined Greenpeace activists and said no to genetically engineered crops. Using their own bodies to form the message ‘MA OGM’ or ‘No to GE’, 2000 activists gathered at eight different Mayan archaeological sites to draw attention to the risks of contamination of honey production by Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) soy.

It is important to remember that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has already ruled that honey contaminated with pollen from GE maize, also produced by Monsanto cannot be sold on the EU market. 40% of the Mexican honey is produced on the Yucatan and it exports 90% of its production to Europe. Monsanto’s GE soy is therefore threatening the livelihood of the forty thousand beekeepers and their families who rely on honey production.

Monsanto has requested authorization to plant commercial GE soy in Mexico despite a previous court order that invalidated a permit to plant 30 000 hectares with ‘pilot sowing’ of GE soy in the States of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. Out of the 253 000 hectares that have been applied for, 60 000 are planned in Yucatan and if approved it could be only a matter of time before the Mexican honey is contaminated by Monsanto’s GE soybean pollen.

The Governor of Yucatan, Ivonne Ortega Pacheco has already said she is in favour of declaring Yucatan GE-free and she made a request to this effect to the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture. The action also aimed to encourage municipalities and other States to declare themselves GE-free and to get the Mexican federal government to ratify these decisions and give them legal standing. Earlier this year, Greenpeace protested to the Mexican authorities as they ignored the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food – Olivier de Schutter to restore the moratorium on GE maize in the country.

The bee population in general is suffering from Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon where worker bees abruptly disappear and cause a collapse of the bee colony, due to multiple factors linked to agrochemicals. The economic effect is significant as over 90% of the world’s food crops need bees.

Aleira Lara

GE Campaigner, Mexico

Last week, the inevitable finally happened. The company responsible for the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has been nationalised. Japan’s trade and industry minister Yukio Edano announced a de facto state take-over of the company with a further injection of $12.5bn, bringing the total of state capital in TEPCO to $33.2bn. Edano has said that: “Without the state funds, (TEPCO) cannot provide a stable supply of electricity and pay for compensation and decommissioning costs”.

The total direct costs of the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe for TEPCO, including compensation and clean up, are estimated at over $100bn. Many Japanese, however, experience in their daily lives that the damages are considerably higher because most of their claims and losses go uncompensated and most of their suffering goes unrecognised.

Image.. The nationalisation of TEPCO, together with a legal practice called “channelling of liability” in which all liability related to the Fukushima nuclear disaster has to be channelled to TEPCO, means Japanese taxpayers and ratepayers will foot most of the bill.

An infuriating aspect of this story is that in a recent presentation by General Electric (GE) about its “success” over the past 50 years, there was not a word about the Fukushima disaster and nothing approaching an apology. Yet the Fukushima disaster was affected by well-known problems related to GE’s Mark 1 design, which was used at all four troubled reactors. Furthermore, GE was involved in maintenance throughout the four decades of the plant’s operation and had 44 on site at the time of the accident.

GE, together with its corporate mates from Hitachi, which is responsible for the construction of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4, and Toshiba, which delivered Reactor No. 3, as well as Ebasco, Kajima, Areva and many others, have mostly kept mum about their involvement.

The Prime Minister orders venting

Prime Minister Naoto Kan had to order venting the day after the disaster. Without venting the containment might have given way to the rising pressure, which is a problem identified 30 years ago by several GE whistleblowers. It was not easy to give the order. Workers would risk potentially lethal doses of radiation and the evacuation around Fukushima had not even started. Venting would expose thousands of people to radiation, but the alternative of an exploding reactor would create even more havoc. TEPCO, GE, Hitachi, and Toshiba knew that this could happen. Not one of them ever demanded the closure of the reactors. Closing their eyes to their obviously faulty product, they spread the impression that people were safe.

Socialising risks, privatising profits

TEPCO is different than Chernobyl where the state owned and operated the reactor. A private enterprise developed the Fukushima Daiichi’s Mark 1 reactors and GE, Hitachi, Toshiba and other companies made huge profits building and servicing the power station. If this were a car, these companies would recall all their nuclear reactors and compensate customers for the costs and losses incurred.

But this is not a car. This is the nuclear industry and these companies continue as if nothing has happened to them. They are saved by TEPCO’s bankruptcy and nationalisation, and they are saved by the unique liability regime surrounding the nuclear industry where profits are privatised but accident liabilities are socialised.

It is clear why we don't see GE, Hitachi and Toshiba rush to put hundreds of millions of dollars into the Fukushima compensation fund. If they did, they would be admitting some kind of guilt and could open up an avenue for making compensation claims against them. Their share prices would plummet and it would force them to rethink their involvement in the nuclear sector. And who wants that?

Well, I want it.

I think that what we see now is an utter shame and outrage. Elsewhere, Hitachi and GE are trying to convince the Lithuanian government to pump almost $9bn into a new nuclear reactor, and accept a liability regime that is capped at $160m. Toshiba, with its sub-group Westinghouse, is wooing Czech CEZ to buy two reactors with the cap on liability in the Czech Republic at $450m. Hitachi is also actively lobbying Turkey with a cap of $24m, and Vietnam with a $230m cap to buy one of its reactors.

At the same time, I hear of people struggling to make ends meet after they fled the Fukushima region, of suicides because the hardships are too much to bear, of families split apart because they do not dare let their children grow up in the contaminated areas even though the father's work is still there, and of companies gone bankrupt because their resources are suddenly taken off the market due to contamination.

First, all victims need to get the compensation they deserve. The nationalisation of TEPCO is a step that could improve the situation. But this should not mean that those who profited from the risk that Fukushima Daiichi clearly posed and those that are profiting from all the other uncovered risks from nuclear power in the rest of the world should escape their responsibility. Facing this responsibility in terms of cold hard cash could help prevent a disaster like this happening again.

Jan Haverkamp is a Greenpeace nuclear energy expert on energy issues in Central Europe

What do you need most on an anchor chain in the middle of the Atlantic, when you’ve been there for over 24 hours, and it’s pouring with rain? Muffins.

Freshly baked by our chef, Walter, and put into waterproof tins ready for loading into speedboats. Speedmuffins. Pronto pastries. Two young Brazilians - Leonor and Elissama - are waiting across the water having been up most of the night and little things like this make all the difference. Fruit is great, but nothing beats that fresh-from-the-oven comfort of spongey goodness.

Occupying an anchor chain for over a day is a pretty challenging operation. Just getting off the Rainbow Warrior onto the inflatables is difficult, as the waves make stepping off the ship onto the moving boat like playing Super Mario Brothers for real. Then it’s a ten minute boat ride across the water with salty spray drenching everything in sight – camera gear, sunglasses and baked goods.

Once Leonor arrives on scene she receives the signal from the boat driver and gets onto a tiny stepladder (Supermario again) before scrambling up towards the platform. Well, I say platform – it’s more of a small plank with Greenpeace written underneath it. It’s all done safely and carefully, but that doesn’t stop the heart racing when you see how high up she is.

And then... well, not much really. Hours of sitting there, making sure she is safe, and waiting. No crowds of supporters cheering her on, just a safety boat with a driver giving her the thumbs up once in a while. It’s a bit like David Blane without the ego. When I was out there with I tried to give her my best winning smile and to think positive thoughts, but I’m not sure that was helping very much.

What really keep these girls going are the messages of support we’re receiving not just here in Brazil but around the world. This isn’t a ‘grey area’ environmental protest, where there are two valid points of view – we’re exposing things like slave labor and the illegal destruction of forest that is home to uncontacted tribes like the Awa. These are things that Brazilians – as well as people all over the world – have decided are unacceptable in our society.

It’s pretty hard to explain the link with ships like this one in words, but I’ll try. If Elissama and Leonor hadn’t stopped it, the Clipper Hope would be loading pig iron and taking that to the USA. Pig iron is used to make steel for cars, but here in Brazil it is leading to huge deforestation and is sometimes produced using slave labor. The Brazilian President and companies like Ford, GM and BMW - have a big role to play in stopping this from happening, but at the moment they’re turning a blind eye to the problem.

See? Much easier to close your eyes, think of the young Brazilians and imagine the smell of freshly baked muffins.

Photo copyright Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace

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Hi,

Image..My name is Brandy and I’m here in our “iPod” to send Apple your messages. We’re right in front of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, in an eight-foot tall, ten-foot wide pod broadcasting audio messages from people like you to Apple’s employees and executives asking the company to power its iCloud with clean energy instead of coal. You can follow us on our livestream now.

In the past month, 215,000 of you have written to Apple to tell them that we want their iCloud to be powered by clean energy, not coal.

This is an incredibly important issue for me personally. I use Apple products every day, just like millions of people around the world. I use my iPad every day in school, just like the one I’m using right now in this pod. It helps me in everything from taking notes, helping me to study for my tests (or even distracting me from class every once in a while.) My iPhone helps me connect with my friends.

I don’t want to stop using those great tools. I want Apple to use their influence to power the iCloud I use every day with clean energy, not dirty coal that’s bringing our planet to the brink of disaster. 

It’s been really inspiring to see how many of you agree in your messages! Here are a few of my favorites:

We’re going to stay here and read Apple your messages as long as we can. If you haven’t sent them one yet, join the fun by going to facebook.com/cleanourcloud and we’ll try to read your message too!

From our iPod,

Brandy Palm 

Raw HTML.. 

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

The Noda Administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will reportedly change their stance and compromise with opposition groups New Komeito and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in order to speed approval for legislation to create a new nuclear regulatory agency. The DPJ hopes that Diet discussions on the issue can begin as early as May 18. Government legislation proposed placing the new agency under the auspices of the Environment Ministry, including control of its budget and personnel, but opposition parties are pushing for an entity with far more independence. Under their proposal, the safety agency would be an independent regulatory commission guaranteed autonomy under Article 3 of Japan’s National Government Organization Act.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced this week that he may ultimately order the restart of the Oi nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture, even if no regulatory agency has been established to monitor safety there. Currently, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) oversees nuclear power regulation, a decision widely criticized both domestically and internationally since NISA is under the purview of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, which promotes nuclear power. Experts consider that arrangement to have directly contributed to numerous problems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Noda was cavalier and seemingly dismissive of the safety concerns of local residents, saying, “I could make the decision without waiting for the agency,” whose legislation is stalled in the Diet.

A group of 66 municipal leaders in Japan has formally petitioned METI to permanently abandon nuclear energy and decommission all of the nation’s reactors. The leaders say that ongoing concerns about the dangers of nuclear power motivated their request.

In yet another reminder of the hidden costs of nuclear power, Tokyo’s efforts to secure the 2020 Olympic Games have been seriously hindered by ongoing European concerns about radiation levels within and outside of Japan’s capital. In addition, many are criticizing the Japanese government’s slogan of “national rebuilding” as an effort to capitalize on tragedy, saying that the 7.5 billion yen price tag would be better spent on reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. A decision will be made in 2013 at a gathering of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Argentina.

The vast majority of governors overseeing prefectures near the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, which is operated by Chubu Electric, oppose its restart, according to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Daily News. Seven of eight governors queried, who govern areas within 150 km of the plant, expressed concerns about the plant’s safety. The Hamaoka plant lies on a major fault zone and is at high risk for a catastrophic earthquake, as well as a potentially large tsunami. Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kurosawa said, “Unless there is a guarantee of sufficient safety, consent [for restarting the plant] will not be given.” In addition to Kanagawa, the survey included Tokyo, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Nagano, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie Prefectures.

In the meantime, a group in Shizuoka Prefecture is gathering signatures to force a public referendum on whether the Hamaoka plant should be allowed to operate again in light of ongoing safety concerns. The group needs to gather at least 62,000 valid signatures by July 11 to push the referendum forward.

Numerous publishers have submitted requests for updates to high school textbooks to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), in order to add information about last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster and the “myth of safety” pertaining to nuclear power. Previously in Japan, the government legally required that textbooks paint positive views of nuclear power.

A citizens’ group attempting to force a referendum on the use of nuclear power in TEPCO’s service area, including Tokyo, has submitted 323,076 signatures to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, reflecting widespread concern about the safety of nuclear power and its long-term future. The Governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, is expected to oppose the referendum when the metropolitan assembly convenes in June, citing the expense of a vote and concerns about lack of alternatives to nuclear power. The issue is expected to play a large role in 2013 assembly elections.

Similarly, another organization plans to organize a call for a referendum against restarting TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture this summer.

TEPCO

TEPCO is reporting an almost $10 billion net loss (781.1 billion yen) for fiscal year 2011, which ended in March.

President of TEPCO, Toshio Nishizawa, submitted a formal request to the government last week for an average 10.28% rate increase for residential users. The proposal included a so-called “peak shift plan.” Depending on how much each household uses, power rates would go up by 4%, 10%, and 20%, with those using the least electricity paying the lowest rates. However, basic rates and other fees would also increase for all users, and peak afternoon rates could increase by as much as 30%.The utility is struggling to pay astronomical costs associated with compensating victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and decommissioning four crippled reactors there, as well as increased expenses for thermal fuel generation, and is attempting to pass those costs on to its customers. The government will reportedly review the request while assessing TEPCO’s fuel and personnel costs. News of the potential rate hike has been met with bitter opposition from consumers.

Tsunehisa Katsumata, the current TEPCO Chairman who is being pushed out and will soon be replaced by Kazuhiku Shimokobe, complained this week that former Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s interference the day after the nuclear crisis began last March, including insistence that he deal directly with Plant Chief Masao Yoshida, adversely affected the utility’s ability to deal with the growing disaster. Katsumata was being questioned by a Diet panel investigating the nuclear crisis.

TEPCO announced that it will not grant its employees summer bonuses this year, for the first time in the company’s history. However, officials still have not made a decision on whether or not they will receive winter bonuses, in spite of the fact that the company posted a $9.8 billion loss this week and just accepted $12 billion more in government bailout funds as well as $13 billion in loans. Those figures bring the total amount to $45 billion in aid so far. Experts at the Japan Center for Economic Research currently estimate that decommissioning and compensation costs of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster could ultimately top $250 billion. Analysts predict that investors may begin to pull out if the company’s outlook does not improve significantly.

TEPCO has named Fumio Sudo, the Chairman of the Board of Governors at Japan’s public television corporation, NHK, as a new outside director of the Board of the ailing utility. Under normal circumstances, Japanese Broadcast Law prevents NHK governors from accepting other posts, which might present a conflict of interest. However, a loophole provides an exception for Sudo, because he is only a part-time governor. Although the NHK Board of Governors does not directly oversee news coverage, its members do the station’s Managing Director, who manages news and editorial content. Many are concerned that NHK will lose its objectivity in reporting about TEPCO and its ongoing problems, including safety concerns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

TEPCO has also named Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, Presidents of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, to the Board of Directors. Both appointments are expected to be confirmed at TEPCO’s general shareholders’ meeting in June.

Efforts to Restart Oi Reactors

The Oi Municipal Assembly in Fukui Prefecture has voted to restart reactors #3 and #4 at Kansai Electric’s Oi Power Plant, in spite of widespread local opposition to the plan and significant concerns about reactor safety. Some members cited worries about the local economy. In March 2010 alone, the town received over $31 million (2.5 billion yen) in subsidies in connection to its agreement to host reactors at the Kansai plant. The decision now moves to Oi Mayor Shinobu Tokioka, who is expected to grant approval this week. A final decision will be made by Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa. Nishikawa has urged the government to gain the consent of the governors of nearby Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, although those leaders have expressed grave concerns about granting their approval before a final report has been issued on the causes of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and a new, more independent nuclear regulatory agency has been established in Japan.

In the meantime, eight of 11 nearby municipalities within 30 km of the Oi reactors say they oppose restarting the idled reactors, out of concerns for residents’ safety and worries about contamination of nearby land and drinking water, according to a survey conducted last week by Asahi. Many of those cities and towns receive no funding or other financial benefits from the nuclear industry for hosting the plants, but would be in significant danger in case of a nuclear accident.Distrust of the central government’s safety assurances continues to grow. Toyoji Terao, the Mayor of Kyotamba, noted, “It cannot be said that the government has conducted sufficient verification of the supply and demand situation for electricity, which will serve as the basis for the people to judge. The [government’s] supply of information is also insufficient.”

Japan’s government plans to institute a voluntary 15% power saving measures this summer, which it says will avoid blackouts in the Kansai region. The plan assumes that the Oi reactors remain idle, and four nearby power operators provide Kansai with surplus electricity. Discussions are still taking place regarding whether or not to make those cuts mandatory for large-lot users.

Contamination

Researchers from Fukushima University plan to attach special collars containing dosimeters and GPS devices to monkeys in the forests of Fukushima Prefecture, in order to determine radiation levels there. Scientists will issue a signal designed to release the collars approximately two weeks later, and then collect them. They hope to map radiation levels in the area, as well as determine the effects of contamination on wildlife.

Scientists from the Forestry and Forest Products Institute (FFPRI) have discovered high levels of radioactive cesium in rats in Fukushima Prefecture, and say that those levels reflect the atmospheric radiation levels of the areas where they were captured. Because rats and humans react to radiation in similar ways, researchers say that the research is significant and should be studied further.

A group of 26 farmers in Kawauchi, located just 20 km from the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, have begun to plant rice as part of a study to determine whether or not radioactive cesium will continue to contaminate crops there. The local government voluntarily asked most farmers not to plant rice this year, but they hope to do so again at some point in the future. Rice gathered in the study will be tested and then discarded.

For the first time since the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March, schools in Fukushima Prefecture held seasonal sporting festivals outdoors. Previous festivals were cancelled or held inside because high radiation levels prevented children from being allowed to play outdoors. However, many school officials made adjustments to schedules in order to prevent the children from engaging in activities where they would touch the ground, for example, during tug-of-war. More than a year later, some areas are still radioactive and considered unsafe.

Evacuation and Repopulation Efforts

A new survey conducted by The Daily Yomiuri shows that the population of former evacuation zones within 20 km of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been reduced by almost half, leaving many concerned about whether those municipalities will ever recover. Although the zone was reopened to residents seven months ago, only 2,200 residents have returned; approximately 30,000 evacuated last Spring. Former residents blame concerns about high radiation levels, fear of unemployment, and lack of desire to once again uproot their children as reasons for their failure to return. 

In another example of far-reaching effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has released new employment figures for Fukushima Prefecture, revealing that 20% of victims of the nuclear crisis and earthquake are either not employed or are no longer looking for work, even though their unemployment benefits have expired. Many say they are uncertain if or when they will return to their homes, and are hesitant to take jobs in areas if they will not remain there permanently. One ministry official conceded, “In Fukushima Prefecture, it still remains unclear how areas designated for evacuation orders will be reorganized and how quickly decontamination work will proceed. This has apparently made it difficult for many disaster victims to plan their futures.”

Other Nuclear News

The US Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) will subject Dominion Power’s North Anna Nuclear Power Station in Virginia to additional oversight, after a gasket failure was discovered following last August’s magnitude 5.8 earthquake. Although the gasket, whose failure was unrelated to the earthquake, was replaced, the NRC determined that the utility had failed to institute sufficient procedures. Dominion Power officials said that they will not protest the ruling.

Southern Company, operator of two reactors scheduled to be built at the Vogtle power station near Augusta, GA, has announced that construction plans are already $900 million over budget, just three months after its contract was approved by the NRC. The overall cost of the reactors, which are being heavily subsidized by taxpayer money and government-guaranteed loans, is estimated at $14 billion.

A visit to an ‘artisanal’ logging operation.

We are at the gate of an artisanal logging operation where military guards are in charge of the security. “Stop! Where do you come from and who are you?” The armed military    asks. With a smile, a member of the Greenpeace delegation replies, “We came to see you.” ”Me?” asks the military? “No, the head of the company,” responds the Greenpeace member." After some hesitation, access is granted.

 The territory of Bolobo, located in the District of Plateau, in the Bandundu Province, covers an area of ​​3.500km². It is an area rich in biodiversity and home to bonobo, elephant and buffalo species, among many others. The people depend mainly on agriculture, fishing, and hunting. Social infrastructure is degraded – the roads are in a terrible state and access is possible only via privately maintained routes.
Forests are invaded by "so-called artisanal loggers," who log trees on an industrial scale.

Artisanal logging, reserved only for Congolese businessmen, has become the activity of expatriates from all sides - Chinese, Lebanese, Bulgarian – all operate with impunity and with the blessing of the Congolese authorities.

It’s worrying how these foreigners behave like they have conquered the land. Worse still, they receive military protection; they are among the highly protected "untouchables". Because of the military presence, their operations are not easily accessible, and therefore uncontrollable, even by government agents committed to this task.

How can we get information on artisanal logging, with this intimidating military presence?

A team member whispers tremulously”I have never experienced anything like this... “. A few seconds of silence and another team member continues, “my father always told me you have to take risks to get somewhere." This phrase comforts the whole team.

While the Congolese forest is systematically looted and destroyed, the local population continues to live in misery. Not being sufficiently informed about their rights, they do not have the ability to negotiate with the ‘artisanal’ logging companies, who only donate some small gifts to the traditional chief. The forest of my country is sold off the price of a bicycle.

We are calling on the government to cancel all ‘artisanal ‘ permits, used for industrial logging operations, because this illegal practice is bypassing the moratorium on the allocation of new industrial logging concessions. Only by doing this, can we preserve the forests for our people, our biodiversity and our climate.

The news initially sounded  intriguing : Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) was inviting journalists in Jakarta to the launch of what the company grandly dubbed its “greatest commitment to natural forest protection.”

Discarding the PR gloss, however, leaves an announcement that exposes glaring gaps in APP’s ‘new’ policy and demonstrates that the company is still not serious about reform.

APP, which has been linked to illegal logging and the clearance of Sumatran tiger habitat, unveiled in in its press conference on Tuesday what it claimed were new measures to protect high conservation value forests (HCVF) in Indonesia.

Starting from June 1, the company said it would “suspend natural forest clearance while HCVF assessments are conducted” in areas “owned” by the company.

That of course sounds good on paper. The problem is, however, we’ve heard that before from APP.

Here is a snippet from an advertisement that APP ran in the New York Times newspaper back in 2006, called ‘Conservation beyond Compliance’:

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The question that APP still needs to answer is: what has been happening for the past six years if it was already committed to protecting HCV forests back in 2006? The answer is: not a lot.

Investigations have indicated that APP has continued receiving timber from the clearance of natural forests, including those of high conservation value. In fact, as the NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest has reported, APP has even cleared areas previously identified as high conservation value forests by third parties. See page 9 of the report.

Still, this has not stopped APP from repeatedly making the same false claim that it is committed to protecting HCV forests.

Just last year, APP managing director Aida Greenbury, who chaired the Jakarta press conference earlier on Tuesday, promised that “any land which is to be converted must not contain High Value Conservation Forest.” Again, lovely words, but not matched by action.

So, given the company’s track record, it’s difficult to see today’s announcement either as ‘new’ or something that can be welcomed as real progress.

Look at the fine print also. APP says the new commitments will apply to areas “owned” by APP.  So how much of the supply chain does it actually own? Rather inconveniently, or perhaps conveniently for APP, no information or supporting evidence has been provided to answer that question.

What’s worse is that we have heard previously that it claims to control less than half of its supply chain. So what is it exactly?

In the end, APP would have been better advised to follow the approach taken by palm oil producer Golden Agri Resources (GAR), also part of the Sinar Mas Group. GAR had introduced a forest conservation policy last year that committed the company to not develop its plantations on forests or peatland.

So if APP wanted to convince customers and other stakeholders that it’s really changing, why didn’t it follow GAR’s lead?

Instead, the company has thrown away a perfect opportunity to convince them that it is serious about reform. The losers continue to be Indonesia’s forests and peatlands, as well as the reputation of Indonesia’s forest sector.

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For over a month now, our supporters around the world have been helping us tell Apple that they want a clean iCloud. Apple’s executives have thus far ignored the hundreds of thousands of people asking them to use their influence for good by building a cloud powered by renewable energy. So it was time for us to take your messages to Apple’s headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Right now, Greenpeace activists are projecting Facebook posts, tweets, and photos from supporters of the Clean Our Cloud campaign onto a wall of the company’s famous Cupertino headquarters.

We are turning Apple’s building into a giant canvas for your messages, using a high-tech laser projector to post them on the wall while live-streaming the action back to you. 

Over 215,000 people have signed our petition asking Apple to power its iCloud with clean energy. The writing’s on the wall for Apple: it’s time to clean up the cloud. Send them the message yourself right now!

Update:  We had to stop beaming messages to Apple HQ.  Thanks to everyone who sent them already. And keep sending them. We think Apple needs to hear from a lot more customers and potential customers.

Image.. Right now a 20 year old Brazilian named Elissama de Oliveira Menezes is attached to the anchor chain of a massive cargo ship here in Sao Luis, at the mouth of the Amazon. She’s a small girl anyway, but next to the 175 meter ‘Clipper Hope’ she looks absolutely tiny.

As long as Elissama stays on the anchor it’s impossible for the ship to dock and load its cargo of pig iron which is destined for the USA. Pig iron is used in the production of steel and is exported from Brazil ready for processing.

She’s there because she wants to end a cycle of destruction which starts in the Amazon rainforest and ends in car showrooms all over the world. She’s also sending a message to Brazil’s President Dilma, who is preparing to host the world’s elite in Rio in a few weeks time. Dilma is currently considering whether to veto changes to the ‘forest code’ a key law which has protected the Amazon for decades. It’s vital that she shows leadership to regain control and protect the Amazon.

Over the past two years Greenpeace has collected evidence about a new rainforest scandal involving the production of pig iron. Our research shows how rainforest trees are being chopped down to make wood charcoal, which is then burnt in furnaces to make pig iron.

This is driving the destruction of the rainforest, but it’s not just the trees that are suffering. The wood is often taken from protected land which is the home of indigenous people like the Awa tribe who have relied on the forest for centuries.

And at the charcoal camps themselves people work under terrible conditions to feed the ovens with fresh wood. This is modern day slavery, where people are lured from their homes with the promise of money but landed with huge debts for accommodation and food which they cannot pay off. Often these people sleep with nothing more than a plastic sheet as shelter, breathing in charcoal particles and other pollutants as the shovel wood in and charcoal out.

Greenpeace activists, along with Elissama, are taking action today to bring this Amazon crime to an international audience. Some of the world’s biggest car makers including Ford, GM, BMW and Mercedes are caught up in this scandal, but right now they’re on cruise control with the radio turned up.

As I look out of the window of the campaign office here on the Rainbow Warrior I can just make out Elissama against the vast bulk of the cargo ship she is blocking. One committed Brazilian can stop a ship of many thousand tonnes – but she can’t do it alone. She needs your help.

Visit our Amazon homepage to join her.

Image..In a landmark decision the Philippine Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Greenpeace Philippines and other petitioners who launched a court case against on-going field trials of genetically engineered (GE) Bt eggplant.

The Supreme Court decision on Friday sets an important precedent in that it establishes that GE, and in particular GE Bt eggplant, violates the constitutional rights of individuals to a healthy environment. No other court in the world has upheld such a stance against genetically engineered organisms (GEOs). This landmark decision will become subject to national and international legal discourse in years to come.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that GE Bt eggplant violates the public’s constitutional rights to a healthy environment and therefore recognized the scientific uncertainties of the health and environmental safety of GE Bt eggplant. It ordered the respondents, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to justify the field testing of GE Bt eggplant in the country within the next 10 days.

The petitioners had filed a writ of kalikasan, which is a unique Philippine legal remedy for people whose constitutional right to a balanced and healthy ecology is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official, involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.

In seeking the writ, the petitioners highlighted the need to first ensure the safety of GE Bt eggplant on health and environmental grounds before it is released into the open through field trials.

The petitioners also asked the court to halt all GE Bt eggplant field trials in the country on the basis of scientific uncertainties of the GE technology and the questionable regulatory process. Currently, regulators are approving almost 100% of all GE applications, which brings into question whether the applications are properly scrutinised before approval.

The Supreme Court decision puts the debate on the health and environmental safety of GEOs in the public spotlight. It also turns the tables on the debate, calling the proponents of GEOs to produce all evidence to inform the public of its safety – which has thus far been a highly contested area of debate.

Internationally, this victory emphasises the growing public rejection against GEOs. It also calls on the international community to subject GEO field trials to higher public scrutiny, as countries, particularly developing countries in Asia, are being turned into dumping areas and test grounds for GEOs that have been rejected in other countries.

In 2010 India issued a moratorium against GE Bt eggplant. As such, efforts have been set in place to ensure approval in the Philippines where the biosafety regulation is more relaxed.

Industry, in particular Monsanto, has been at the forefront of developing and pushing for GE Bt eggplant in India and in the Philippines as a gate opener for other GE vegetables. Based on figures from the top 20 eggplant producers in the world in 2010, the eggplant industry is worth more than US$8 billion per year, which explains Monsanto’s interest in having GE Bt eggplants approved.

Other countries must remain vigilant. After having failed to get GE Bt eggplant approved in India and the Philippines, the industry will attempt to push acceptance in other countries. But as Greenpeace has argued and as the Supreme Court decision shows, GE Bt eggplant poses a threat to health and the environment and violates the basic rights of individuals.

Didit Pelegrina

Senior Campaigner - Sustainable Agriculture and Genetic Engineering (Asia)
Greenpeace International

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

TEPCO

Yukio Edano, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, has approved TEPCO’s proposed restructuring plan, which it developed in conjunction with the government’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund. The new plan, which extends through 2021, effectively places the utility under state control. The government has agreed to inject $12.5 billion to keep the company from going bankrupt; this amount is in addition to $10.7 billion the government will pay to help cover compensation due to victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In exchange, the government will receive over 50% in voting shares. Analysts estimate that the overall cost of the Fukushima crisis will eventually top $100 billion. TEPCO’s nationalization is the second largest ever outside of the banking industry; the largest was that of General Motors, which cost the US taxpayers $14.7 billion.

As part of that plan, TEPCO has appointed a new president, Naomi Hirose. Hirose is currently a Managing Director at the company in charge of compensating victims of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis and previously worked in sales. He said his goals are to compensate disaster victims, decommission the crippled reactors at the Daiichi plant, and stabilizing power supply in the region. Yukio Edano, the head of METI, had pushed for an outsider to be appointed president, but the utility resisted. Hirose is said to be close to Tsunehisa Katsumata, the outgoing but powerful TEPCO Chairman. He replaces outgoing Toshio Nishizawa, who was sharply criticized after saying, “Rate increases are a power company’s right.”

A major component of TEPCO’s revised business plan involves the controversial decision to restart all seven reactors at the utility’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture starting in April 2013, in spite of the fact that many local residents are fiercely opposed to the idea. TEPCO’s incoming Chairman, Kazuhiko Shimokobe, said, “While the resumption of operations is not a predetermined fact, any plan that does not include nuclear energy would be nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky blueprint.”

The utility plans to raise residential electricity rates for the first time in 32 years, by as much as 10.28%. In addition, TEPCO will charge higher rates during the day when the power grid load is greater, as opposed to the evening. The plan also calls for 3.36 trillion yen in cost cutting measures over the next 10 years.

TEPCO has admitted that a 17-year old boy worked at the Fukushima Daiichi plant under highly radioactive conditions last year in the month following the meltdown, in violation of Japan’s Labor Standards Law. The utility said he received 1.92 millisieverts of radiation during that period. The boy falsified his birth certificate, saying he was 18 years old.

The family of a woman who committed suicide as a result of stress and emotional suffering in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has filed suit against TEPCO, blaming the utility for her death. The woman set herself on fire after briefly visiting her home, which the family had been forced to evacuate. The case could have far-reaching implications for others who have experienced mental distress in the aftermath of the nuclear crisis. 

A group of 25 victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster who were forced to evacuate from their homes are suing TEPCO for 254 million yen in damages.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

New figures released by METI estimate that nine major power utilities in Japan will post a loss of 2.7 trillion yen ($33.8 billion) by the end of fiscal 2012, as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. That number assumes that all nuclear reactors in Japan, which are currently idle, remain offline the rest of the year. Most utilities are depending on thermal power plants to make up for the expected shortfall, and have announced they will delay inspecting 13 of 28 plants in order to keep them online. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has approved of that decision.

Yukio Edano, the head of METI, said that the government may impose curbs on power use in the Kansai region this summer, but will wait until the last minute to make that decision.

The Japan Atomic Energy Commission has recommended that the government delay a decision on its nuclear fuel cycle policy, saying that more discussion is needed. At issue is how to handle spent nuclear fuel. The proposal could result in the temporary shutdown of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Prefecture.

Koichiro Genba, former Minister of State for National Policy, admitted in an interview this week that he proposed evacuating half a million people from a 50 km radius around the Fukushima Daiichi plant immediately following the nuclear disaster last spring. Instead, the government decided to evacuate 78,000 people from within a 20 km radius.

Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) is criticizing NISA for granting approval to the Shika Nuclear Power Station in Ishikawa Prefecture to use MOX fuel. MOX is a mix of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and uranium. The NSC said that NISA has failed to take lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into account when making its decision.

A citizens’ group called Let’s Decide Together has now collected 323,000 signatures in support of a referendum on whether or not to restart nuclear reactors in the TEPCO service area. The Tokyo metropolitan assembly is expected to vote on the issue in June. The Governor has opposed the referendum, saying it will cost too much.

Efforts to Restart Oi Reactors

In continuing efforts to convince skeptical municipal officials that restarting the Oi reactors is safe, a third METI official will travel to Fukui Prefecture as early as the end of this week. The move follows an unsuccessful meeting between METI Minister Yukio Edano on April 14 and Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa, as well as a town hall meeting between METI Senior Vice Minister Mitsuyoshi Yanagisawa and concerned Oi residents on April 26. Now, Senior Vice Minister Seishu Makino will meet with officials from Shiga and Kyoto Prefectures.

Local officials in Kyoto, Osaka, and Shiga Prefectures continue to criticize efforts to restart the Oi nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture, calling the government’s emergency disaster plans “inadequate.” In addition, they are questioning Kansai Electric’s assertion that the region will suffer power shortages this summer if the reactors remain idle. Tetsunari Iida, who heads the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Tokyo, noted, “Projected demand and supply were originally calculated at 2010 levels, during an extremely hot summer and at a time when no special conservation efforts were in place. KEPCO is just presenting numbers without proof or explanation, in the hope that they can get back to business as usual.”

The Gifu Prefectural Assembly has unanimously adopted a statement demanding that the central government obtain consent of local residents, including those in Gifu, before restarting the Oi nuclear reactors in nearby Fukui Prefecture. In addition, the statement criticizes the central government for basing its decision on political considerations, rather than depending on experts to determine whether or not the reactors are safe to operate. The Assembly asserts that no decision should be made until the investigation into the causes of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant has been completed.

Contamination

Residents of the West Coast of the United States and Canada are expressing concern about radioactive waste, as ocean currents carrying debris from last year’s massive tsunami in Japan begin to reach their shores. So far, building materials, Styrofoam, soccer balls, and a motorcycle have washed ashore, with much more debris expected to arrive in the coming year. Some towns are exploring radiation monitoring stations to determine whether contamination levels are below legal limits.Others have raised concerns that disposing of the waste could exceed municipal budgets.

Other Nuclear News

Staff from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have submitted a letter to Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey, charging an NRC manager with “diminish[ing] the significance of valid inspection results” at Nebraska’s Fort Calhoun nuclear station. In addition, the manager allegedly “openly berated and intimidated inspectors for raising safety issues.” Fort Calhoun was shut down for flooding last year and a fire that caused significant threats to the plant’s safety. Markey, who has long expressed concern about nuclear safety in the United States, said the revelations are “appalling” and has called for an independent investigation.

Four US scientists have published a new report in the British journal Nature, recommending that plutonium from spent nuclear fuel be buried rather than recycled. The researchers say that burying the fuel is more cost-effective and will reduce the chance that plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear bombs, will fall into the hands of terrorists. Over 250 tons of plutonium has accumulated around the world; it has a half-life of 28,000 years.

Within the past few weeks, rainforest destruction has begun once again in one of Africa’s most important biodiversity hotspots:  the coastal rainforest of Cameroon, at the fringe of the Congo Basin region. Herakles Farms, the American company behind the operation, is now pressing ahead with the establishment of a palm oil plantation in this precious area despite major social, environmental and legal concerns.

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Despite the rapidly growing controversy around its plantation project, Herakles Farms has stated that it wants to become a model for sustainable palm oil development in Africa. On the contrary, this specific project exemplifies the possible detrimental impact of large-scale palm oil plantations on people’s rights and livelihoods, biodiversity and the global climate. Herakles Farms’ plans have already been strongly contested by local communities, Cameroonian NGOs and international conservation organizations, as well as by leading scientists.

Herakles Farms is headed up by an American businessman, Bruce Wrobel, who is the CEO of several companies with connections to The Blackstone Group, the New York private equity giant. An injunction case brought against Herakles’ local subsidiary, SG Sustainable Oils Cameroon Ltd., by Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE), cited the possibility of irreparable damage or injury to local communities if the plantation were to go ahead.

Given the terms of a 99-year agreement under which Herakles Farms is allowed to establish a plantation of about 70,000 hectares, it’s not difficult to see why Cameroonian NGOs fear the worst for local people. The agreement does not clarify to what extent – if at all – Cameroonian labour laws will apply, it exempts Herakles Farms from paying any taxes for the first 10 years, and it enables Herakles to rent the land from as little as US $0.5 per hectare, increasing by 2 % per year, contributing almost nothing to the state budget. The legality of the agreement itself has been contested by one of Africa's leading civil society organizations, the Center for Environment and Development (CED). The agreement was signed by the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, contrary to Cameroonian law which requires the President’s approval for land allocations over 50 hectares. Under the agreement, Herakles is even given the right to organize its own protection of the zone using a private police force with the power to “search, apprehend, detain, exclude and evict unauthorized persons”.

Herakles’ presence in Africa’s rainforests does not solely threaten the rights and livelihoods of local people, who depend on the forest as a source of food and building materials. The proposed plantation is located between four protected areas of huge ecological importance: the Korup National Park, Bakossi National Park, Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve and the Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary. Destroying tens of thousands of hectares of forests that serve as a crucial corridor between these reserves would put the endangered species that live in these forests, including forest elephants, chimpanzees and the highly threatened Drill under further pressure.  Leading conservation scientists have warned the company that the proposed plantation will “cut the heart out” of this vital rainforest region.

Herakles claims that it will not clear primary forests or forests of high conservation value, but it remains very vague on what this means. They suggest that the forest they want to destroy is highly degraded with only a small part of it of high conservation value. However, recent satellite images reveal that 71% of the area has 70% forest cover, which is a similar proportion to the neighbouring Korup National Park. Tellingly, the original Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of the area was never officially published.

Greenpeace believes the Herakles palm oil plantation project must be stopped now, before it is too late, and sent this letter to the company on May 10, 2012.

It’s been a week since we arrived in Belem and during that time I’ve learned more about river fish than I would have during a lifetime back in San Francisco. Well, perhaps that’s a bit hard on the Californian fish scene, but you get the idea.

I’ve seen catfish the size of dogs, tiny eel like creatures and big orange ones with red eyes that no one knows the name of (sorry oceans team, I’m sure you do). This morning we headed into the market to buy some supplies for the ship, and we ended up in the loudest fish market I’ve ever been to in my life.

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We came back to the Rainbow Warrior for the latest in a series of events that we’re hosting aboard. We all crammed into the conference room to hear the head of the Amazon Campaign, Paulo Adario, present the case for ‘zero deforestation’ in Brazil.

No perhaps I’m more cynical than you, but when someone at Greenpeace first mentioned the phrase ‘zero deforestation’ to me about three years ago I laughed. It sounded like one of those things like world peace, eternal youth or free beer– a nice idea but not something that is ever going to happen in the real world.

Today I feel differently. For a start, I know more about how it would work. It turns out that countries like Brazil or Indonesia already have huge areas of deforested or degraded land which could be used for agriculture. The reason this isn’t happening is that cutting down rainforest trees gives you a tidy profit before you’ve even started raising cattle or growing your palm oil plantation.

But the truth is that both of these countries have more than enough land to allow healthy economic growth without trashing any more natural forests. Most people (including small farmers, scientists and politicians) agree that deforestation is bad for the people and animals who live in these regions, as well as for the climate. So if it’s possible and most people want it, what’s needed to make it actually happen?

Here in Brazil, Greenpeace may have an answer. The team here has gathered over 200,000 signatures for a citizen’s petition on the subject. Under Brazilian law if the number hits 1.4m – 1 percent of the population - then Congress must formally consider the proposal and then vote on it, which means lots of public attention, camera flashbulbs and column inches. The polls show a lot of support for forest preservation in Brazil but the people don’t have the cash and political access of the agribusiness lobby. As is so often the case in a modern democracy, politicians hear more from people in suits than in sandals.

The proposal would put natural forests off limits to loggers and offer incentives to those who develop already deforested land instead. It’s written in a clear but compelling way, and here on the Rainbow Warrior this week it’s received support from a huge range of organizations from local labour unions and lawyers. Having the ship here in Belem has allowed Greenpeace to host these people and work together on this initiative, which is really helping to build momentum. It’s just one of the things that having a large ship – with a high tech conference room - can offer.

So will it work? Well, the Amazon is under a serious threat right now, because of a coordinated attack on the Forest Code - which is an old law that protects the rainforest. If the ruralistas (the agribusiness guys) get their way this law will be severely weakened, and the final decision now rests with the new president, Dilma Roussef. So in some ways ‘zero deforestation’ seems as remote as ever, but in Brazil things can change quickly.

If Dilma vetoes the bad forest code and Greenpeace manages to force a vote in Congress on this good alternative then things could turn around more quickly than the ship’s periscope after a dollop of marine grease. It would also send a clear signal to other countries like Indonesia that a forest protection is both possible and profitable.

You can help. Use our Brazilian Friend Finder to spread the word, and stay tuned for more fish updates.

Last week, the Senegalese government cancelled all fishing permits for foreign“pelagic trawlers,” large fishing vessels that drag nets below the surface of the ocean.

This should remind leaders that with political will and courage, they can change things and shape the future of their people for the better. Our work to make this decision permanent in Senegal continues, as does our work to make sure that the European CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) reform process works for all Europeans, not just powerful fishing interests.

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The timely decision by our government here is a huge step forward in the struggle to end overfishing by foreign ships in Senegal, and throughout the West African region, where foreign trawlers, especially from Europe, plunder our waters of fish having already exhausted their own.

For nearly a year now, Greenpeace has been leading an intense campaign to convince the Senegalese government cancel the fishing permits. Not only do these permits lack a strong legal basis, they also pose a serious threat to the livelihood of millions of Senegalese who rely on fish for jobs and food.

Greenpeace undertook numerous initiatives including a project entitled “My voice, my future”, which included a march alongside small-scale fishing communities, an online petition, political lobbying, and of course, sending our ship Arctic Sunrise to take action and document the oceans crisis unfolding in Senegalese waters.

Greenpeace has been working around the world to stop the plunder of African’s waters by foreign vessels. In Europe, numerous Greenpeace offices are demanding that the current CFP reform process include measures to keep EU vessels from plundering foreign waters and mechanisms to rescue Europe’s oceans.

After meeting with Greenpeace representatives as a candidate, Macky Sall, now Senegal’s president, publicly declared that he would put an end to the pillaging of Senegalese waters by foreign fishing boats. He has now fulfilled the process, a move that gives us hope that a new generation of politicians putting the interests of all of us above their own may be upon us here in Senegal.

We hope that this inspires politicians to not stand by as Africa’s valuable fish are taken from us. West African waters remain a favourite target for foreign fishing boats, which often use destructive fishing gear that take more than just fish, often with the complicity of other leaders in the region.

We will keep you posted on how our work to reform fisheries laws – for the benefit of all of us, not just large-scale fishing industries - in Europe and here in Africa continues

Raoul Monsembula is a Greenpeace Africa oceans campaigner based in Dakar, Senegal.

For most of us the word “Rio” brings to mind images of colorful carnivals and the golden beaches of the Copacabana. I wish this was true for me. For the past months, “Rio” has been short for the “Rio+20 Earth Summit”. The long negotiations taking place on the so called "zero draft" since January have had little in common with beaches, parties or a beautiful city. Still, while we are very critical of the world’s governments’ general lack of ambition  for the future of the planet and its people, High Seas protection, one of the few good points in the original "zero draft" is still on the table six weeks before the Summit starts on June 20th. If governments choose Oceans over private greed, they could still - on Oceans, at least - make a positive difference to the world at Rio.

The future of the oceans hangs in the balance and leaders must agree to a rescue plan in Rio that will create large-scale marine reserves (areas off-limits to fishing and other industrial activities) on the high seas - areas of ocean that belong to all of us, and not just one nation. The high seas cover more than 64% of the ocean but are still the least protected areas of our planet.  Governments have agreed mechanisms to regulate fishing, drilling and mining, but they have yet to agree on effective rules to protect the oceans. Considering the devastating effects of overfishing and pirate fishing and the frightening increase in ocean acidification caused by CO2 emissions, it is high time that governments acted in the interest of the oceans and the billions of people reliant on them for food, jobs and even the oxygen we breathe. 

Last week more than 250,000 of you sent a message to European leaders calling on them to champion an oceans rescue plan. So it was great to see that the European Union stood strong, supporting the large majority of countries from South America, Africa, Asia and Pacific such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Philippines, Fiji to name just a few. Unfortunately a minority of States such as the US, Russia, Canada, Japan and Norway are still opposing the need for a new biodiversity agreement going forward,  blocking the possibility for high seas protection. 

Negotiations on the oceans are still going on this week and an extra set of negotiation days have been added at the end of May due to ongoing disagreements, including on Oceans. So we are fighting hard in the corridors to make sure High Seas protection is still on the table when leaders meet at their Summit in Rio from June 20-22 2012. With your support we can push for an oceans rescue plan and open the way for the establishment of large-scale marine reserves in the high seas. Who knows, may be there will be an oceans carnival in Rio and I will remember not the windowless rooms at the UN but the sense of relief at governments finally doing the right thing for the High Seas? Stay tuned!

Sofia Tsenikli is a Greenpeace International Senior Political Advisor based in Athens, Greece.

The Rainbow Warrior is moored in the port city of Belem, here at the mouth of the Amazon river in Brazil. It’s a historic city, over 400 years old, which was established in colonial times and has become a thriving trade center ever since.

The name means Bethlehem in Portuguese and the cathedral, beautiful churches and bright blue buildings are a reflection of a devout and spiritual atmosphere. It’s still a market town as well, where the stalls creak under the weight of giant river fish, translucent shrimp and luscious exotic fruit.

As I write this I can see the line of supporters snaking back to the ice cream vendors and beyond, a great body of people in flip-flops and colorful vests waiting patiently to see Greenpeace’s most famous ship. We’re here for two days of open boats, where people can come visit the Rainbow Warrior and ask questions about Greenpeace.

Some people here find the word a little hard to say, as ‘peace’ is not easily pronounced by the Portuguese tongue. I was a little surprised to hear someone refer to the organization as “Greenpizza”, which sounded delicious. I’m sure my terrible Portuguese sounds pretty funny too.

These people are also a vital part of a campaign which we’re calling Zero Deforestation, or “Desmatamento Zero” (which is definitely a phrase I can’t say properly). That means banning the destruction of large swaths of forest for things like cattle and soya. There’s plenty of suitable land in Brazil but right now companies are trashing ancient forests and converting them to pasture - cutting corners as well as trees.

If enough Brazilians sign our petition then it becomes a bill that requires a formal vote in Congress. So far over 180,000 Brazilians have signed which is a great stride towards the magic figure of 1.4 million. You can help by using our Brazilian friend finder which will help you to, um, find your Brazilian friends and tell them about the campaign.

Events like this weekend in Belem are also a vital tool in reaching this goal, as hundreds of people visit the ship each day and spread word of the campaign to their friends and neighbours across Para.

It’s people power in a very real sense. As the Brazilian team here tells me, the Brazilian Congress is heavily biased towards the ruralistas – the agribusiness lobby – who want to weaken forest protection, even though the majority of Brazilians want to keep the Amazon intact. These people – along with Greenpeace – believe that Brazil’s greatest natural asset must be protected for the country to win long term prosperity and growth. And, although it wasn’t a particularly scientific poll, the people I spoke with here seemed to agree.

The very first campaign I worked on when I arrived at Greenpeace in 2006 was the Green My Apple campaign. It was exciting and different, and as someone who has proudly held on to her iMac G3 (Bondi Blue I might add) to this very day, I was part of making a company I loved even better. I still remember being in a meeting in San Francisco in May 2007 when a coworker excitedly told us to check the Apple Web site. They were finally promising a Greener Apple.

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Apple has so many fans because the company knows how to take something great and make it even better. The Green My Apple campaign worked the same way. Greenpeace built some simple tools and let Apple-lovers create unique messages to send directly to Apple. The questions about Apple’s environmental practices were coming to the company from the people who loved Apple the most.   At first, Apple did not want to admit there was a problem, but  Apple ultimately recognized that its customers were right, and responded.

In 2009 the company became the first in the industry to release a computer free of the nasty chemicals Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs). Since then, company after company has followed in Apple’s footsteps. Apple created a pathway for all of us, even those who have never owned an Apple, to purchase more environmentally-friendly electronics – and from the beginning, we knew they could.

Last week, Greenpeace released a report called “How Clean is Your Cloud?” evaluating tech companies’ energy choices for how they power the cloud. Apple scored pretty poorly. So we’re back asking Apple lovers to help the company lead the industry again, because they continue to prove they can.

The IT industry is at a crossroads. With estimates that our digital data will grow 50-fold by 2020, it’s extremely important that the energy source that powers the cloud is clean. This growth is and will continue to put a demand on our energy infrastructure across the globe. This can go one of two ways: more dirty energy that makes us sick and causes climate change, or more sustainable clean energy. IT companies like Apple are big customers to utilities like Duke Energy and they have the buying power to demand clean energy.

So like I said, we’re back asking Apple to lead once again. We want them to set a policy that says they’ll build new data centers in places that have access to renewable energy.

Here’s how you can help: Join the over 210,000 people who are asking Apple and other IT companies to Clean Our Cloud. Then ask your friends to help out too. Apple grew to become an environmental leader the last time you asked them. They can do it again. 

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

Japan’s last remaining nuclear reactor shut down on Saturday, leaving the country entirely nuclear-free for the first time in 42 years. All 50 of the nation’s operable reactors (not counting the four crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant) are now offline. Before last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, the country obtained 30% of its energy from nuclear power sources, and had planned to produce up to 50% of its power from nuclear sources by 2030.

Over 5,000 protesters took to the streets of Tokyo on Saturday to demonstrate against nuclear power; many encouraged the use of renewable forms of energy. Traditionally, such public protests have been highly uncommon in Japanese culture. Junichi Sato, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan, said, “I think it is not easy, but this challenge is worth fighting for. There is an increased chance of earthquakes in Japan, so that has a significant risk to the Japanese people and the Japanese economy. The only way forward is to rapidly shift the energy source from nuclear to other sources of energy.”

The Noda administration and nuclear power industry officials had worked hard to win public approval to restart reactors at the Oi Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture and prevent the country from being free of nuclear power, but strong public anti-nuclear sentiment, including bitter opposition from Shiga, Osaka, and Kyoto Prefectures, foiled those efforts. Experts say that if Japan makes it through the summer without restarting any reactors, it will be far more difficult for the government to convince people why nuclear power is safe and even necessary—particularly in the shadow of the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. A recent nationwide poll conducted by Kyodo News revealed that 70% of Japanese people oppose the restart of the Oi reactors.

Yukio Edano, the head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) admitted this week that it’s possible that no reactors will be restarted before the end of the summer, although he said that the government will continue its ongoing efforts to restart the Oi reactors. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made a similar admission last week.
 
The government said it would release figures estimating the country’s power supply and demand for the summer by the end of this week.

But in the meantime, the nation still has no cohesive nuclear energy policy. Members of the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, a METI panel tasked with determining how much nuclear power the country should generate, are bitterly divided. Some members say that Japan should use no nuclear power by 2030, and others say it should use as much as 35%.

In addition, plans to replace the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) with an independent regulatory agency under the umbrella of the Environment Ministry have gone awry. NISA, as part of METI—the official promoter of nuclear power--has come under fire for failure to adequately regulate the nuclear industry. Efforts to establish the new agency have stalled in the Diet, with deliberations on the bill not even started. Some members complain that it lacks adequate independence from the nuclear industry.

Scientists from Tokyo and Nagoya Universities have released new data showing that a fault near the Shiga nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture may be active, placing the reactors there at risk of a much greater earthquake than previously anticipated. The researchers, Mitsuhisa Watanabe and Yasuhiro Suzuki, are warning the plant’s operator, Hokuriku Power, to take additional measures to protect against seismic damage.

Japan’s Nuclear Crisis Minister Goshi Hosono met with Chinese Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian last week, where they agreed to cooperate on issues of nuclear safety. In addition, Japan agreed to share information about the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Officials in Fukushima Prefecture conducted an unannounced tsunami preparedness drill this week for municipal workers. However, the drill neglected to address a scenario in which the cooling system at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was incapacitated.

TEPCO

TEPCO has named Naomi Hirose, who previously oversaw compensation issues at the utility, as new company president. He will work in conjunction with Kazuhiko Shimokobe, recently appointed TEPCO Chairman.

Efforts to Restart Oi Reactors

Officials from Osaka City and Osaka Prefecture met with executives from Kansai Electric last week and urged them to ensure that the region will have access to stable power supplies and will not experience blackouts this summer even if the Oi reactors are not restarted. Kansai continues to insist that it will experience power shortages—a claim that has not been confirmed by any third party panel—but said it will encourage residents to conserve electricity by offering gift certificates and other incentives to those who use less power. In addition, the utility will increase electricity rates during the day and lower them at night for residential consumers, while offering discounts to corporate consumers that conduct business on the weekend, rather than during the week.

Takashi Kawamura, the Mayor of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, has joined numerous other mayors in Japan in condemning the government’s decision to restart reactors #3 and #4 at the Oi Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture. Kawamura said that if a nuclear accident were to occur, it would irreversibly contaminate the Kiso River, which provides drinking water for people in the region. He submitted a formal petition to NISA, requesting a nuclear hazard map of the area in case of an accident at the Oi plant.

Contamination

High levels of cesium in wild herbs and plants, considered springtime delicacies in Japan, have prompted the central government to ban their shipment. Some of the plants affected include royal fern (zenmai), ostrich fern (kusasotetsu), Angelica tree sprouts (taranome), butterbur sprouts (fukunoto), koshiabura (which is from the ginseng family), and bracken (warabi). Sales of wild plants in local stores have dropped between 75 and 80% since before the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries has come under fire for a recent announcement admonishing retailers to stop posting radiation levels for foods that are lower than those that are government mandated. Beginning April 1, the Ministry lowered the legal limits of cesium contamination to 100 Bq/kg for general foods, 50 Bq/kg for milk and baby food, and 10 Bq/kg for water. Recently, the Ministry asked retailers to stop measuring radiation on their own and advertising lower contamination levels, claiming it would confuse consumers. However, retailers say they are simply responding to customers’ requests for safe food in the midst of widespread distrust in the government. “We had to draw up our own standards because consumers do not trust the national standards,” noted Hiroshi Tsuchida, head of quality control at Seikatsu Club.

Newly uncovered documents from Fukushima Prefecture’s education department show high levels of radiation at 20 schools. Heightened contamination levels were discovered in ditches, hedges, and drains. The documents were released to a civic group as part of a freedom of information request.

As an Indonesian, and an experienced political campaigner working for Greenpeace, I have felt the full range of emotions in recent years as I’ve fought to protect my country’s forests with my Greenpeace colleagues, friends from other civil society organisations and a few progressive government officials.

Consequently, the first anniversary of Indonesia’s moratorium on deforestation on 20 May 2012 gives me the chance to reflect on where we’ve come from, where we are now and how much more needs to be done.

For many years, we have been challenging the so-called forestry mafia; those unscrupulous, exploitative industry and corrupt officials who have been allowed to treat the forests as their own personal cash cows for far too long by, at best weak, or at worst corrupt, national and local government officials.

As we’ve shone the spotlight on those who destroy the forests for their own gain, we have also welcomed government and industry commitments to shift from exploiting forests to protecting them.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction commitment, 26% by 2020 combined with 7% annual economic growth, palm oil producer Golden Agri-Resources’ (GAR) 2011 commitment to reform its field operations and decisions by major international companies such as Nestle, Kraft, Unilever, Adidas and Danone to cancel contracts with Asian Pulp and Paper (APP), linked to illegal logging and the clearance of Sumatran tiger habitat, all show that it’s possible to grow the economy or keep shareholders happy without destroying forests.

We all pushed so hard for the introduction of the moratorium as we believed it was the ‘game-changer’ for improving Indonesia’s forest governance. It would allow the breathing space to design and then implement measures and practices which would protect forests for the critical role they play in regulating the global climate, and for the millions of people and rich biodiversity that depend on forests for their very survival.

Following years of civil society lobbying for the moratorium on deforestation, as well as the incentive of US$1 billion for the protection of Indonesia’s forests from Norway, the decree from Indonesian president Yudhoyono to suspend the issue of new forestry permits finally entered into force on 20 May 2011.

We all welcomed this commitment as a first crucial step to seriously protecting Indonesia’s forests, while at the same time warning that pressure from the forestry, agriculture and coal mining industries had weakened the final text of the agreement to such an extent that it could fail.

The moratorium in it’s current form is weak because it only stops new concessions from being awarded and doesn’t include a review of existing concessions. It also offers no additional protection to carbon-rich peatland, home to species close to extinction such as the Sumatran tiger and orangutan, and ramin trees. Finally, the moratorium does nothing to stop coal mining companies from ripping up Indonesia’s forests - most of Indonesia’s huge coal reserves lay under its forests.

Recently, together with our civil society friends, we presented maps that highlight the problems of concession overlap with areas covered by the moratorium. We also provided recommendations to strengthen and extend the moratorium, beyond its current two-year duration. We believe the moratorium needs to be results-based rather than time-bound.

If my government follows our recommendations and honours its commitments, it stands a chance of protecting our remaining forests both for the future of Indonesia’s 240 million people and the global climate, rather than just making a few people even richer.

We will be asking for your help to urge Indonesia and Norway to use the momentum of the first anniversary to strengthen the moratorium, so please stand by to take action with us to protect Indonesia’s magnificent forests.

Yuyun Indradi is Political Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Indonesia

How does Apple’s $1billion iDataCenter in Maiden, North Carolina draw its power?

Apple is sending millions of dollars a year to Duke Energy, one of the few utilities in the US that is still building coal plants.  

By making a substantial investment in their North Carolina data center, Apple obviously plans to stay put for decades to come. But Duke’s lack of interest in real, local investment in clean energy is completely at odds with Apple’s environmental commitments and history of powering its operations with renewable energy.

So which of Duke’s coal plants will make the electricity Apple is buying from Duke?

The oldest and most hazardous: Riverbend coal fired power station

Operating since 1929, the Riverbend coal fired power station is one of the oldest running coal plants in the US. The two massive coal ash dumps at Riverbend contain a toxic slurry of coal ash and heavy metals, and are separated from the Catawba River only by an unlined containment wall. The EPA has categorized these dumps as “high-hazard” and they abut Mountain Island Lake, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million local residents. The high-hazard designation means that if the earthen dams holding back these unlined pits were to break, the surrounding residents would likely be killed by the unleashed toxic brew.

Despite continuous community efforts to close the plant, the oldest unit  in operation since 1929  was only retired in 2011. Riverbend’s remaining units, which are around 60 years old and among the oldest plants in the US, continue to operate.

The most lethal for public health: Marshall coal-fired power station

The Marshall coal-fired power station has been in operation since 1965. This station has the highest emissions of asthma and heart disease inducing NOx and SO2 emissions of Duke’s North Carolina fleet (9000 tons and 3800 tons respectively), and emits 11.5 million tons of carbon pollution annually. Because of its upwind proximity to Winston-Salem, a significant metro area, the pollution from this plant has the highest adverse health impact in Duke’s fleet, estimated to cause 130 deaths and 2200 asthma attacks per year, according to research commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force.

Health impacts research commissioned by Clean Air Task Force
Plant commercial date from Duke Energy

Why Apple’s choice matters

Large and sophisticated power consumers like Apple are the most important growth market for Duke Energy. Duke has worked hard to lure Apple to the region, with offers of “cheap” power fed by a fleet of coal and nuclear plants.

If Apple wants to be a responsible large energy consumer, they must pay close attention to the energy ecosystem in North Carolina and ensure that their presence will not prop up outdated and dirty coal plants. Apple can use its market power to encourage Duke Energy to provide clean energy options and stop the use of mountaintop removal coal. Apple should follow the lead of its Silicon Valley and North Carolina neighbor, Facebook, who has committed to set a policy to build future data centers in locations that have access to renewable energy, and to lobby the utilities that provide it power, such as Duke, for more access to renewable energy.

By 2015, all but one of Duke Energy’s coal power plants will have reached the end of their economic life, which places the company at a significant investment crossroad. As one of Duke’s top customers, Apple and other tech companies can strongly influence Duke to retire the old plants and choose a sustainable energy pathway.